


For that devious dance

by FirenzeSun



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Post Season 3, fake matelotage au with a side of angst and some extra smut, somebody had to do it, the au the fandom needs but not the one it deserves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-08 01:11:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12244200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FirenzeSun/pseuds/FirenzeSun
Summary: "Alright," Flint repeated as if he too needed to hear the words again to fully register them. "You're right, it is the most practical way. It will not only give me a better look on the men but it would also be a tactical advantage. You and I when together can achieve anything, making it official it's only logical."Flint sent Silver a penetrating look that reached Silver's very soul, and Silver swallowed wishing it could all be real.------Every fandom needs at least one Fake Marriage AU, here's my take on it. With you my Fake Matelotage AU.





	1. Play with fire and you'll get burned eventually

**Author's Note:**

> So I've long since been complaining that this fandom needed a Fake Marriage AU, until I finally cracked and decided to do it myself. Be the fic you want to see in the world, only you'll always think you're not good enough. Besides what better way than to rest from a WIP than to start another one. Dedicated to all the people who encourage me when I asked help to stop.
> 
> Set post-season 3, when everybody tries to give Billy an earful for his illicit fanfiction writing club.

It was all Billy's fault. That's who Silver was going to blame everything on, at least. Because he needed to blame somebody and he was too tired of blaming his own mouth.

They were in Miranda's house. Flint's mood had been sour for seeing a bunch of pirates using without the proper respect a place he once had almost called home. But there was a war to be fought and they needed somewhere to stay in Nassau and he couldn't kick them out. He didn't have to be happy about it though. It didn't help that Billy had just told him about the crimes he committed on Silver's name. Flint seemed pissed off about it, angry that they were trying to take away from him the war he had sacrificed so much for. But when he looked at Silver he seemed relieved, as if he was glad to have a partner in this particular darkness.

And that's when Billy said it.

"The men don't think you're queer enough."

"Excuse me?" Flint asked sitting straighter on his chair.

Billy continued talking only slightly bothered. "You're too much like the same men that they've sailed away from, the tyrants they escaped from. A white person with power dictating their lives. That's why they crave for a figure like Silver. They see a disadvantage, someone who's disregarded by society, with a label upon his forehead. And they see him bland that disadvantage as a weapon."

Flint said nothing, his face was red.

"What weakness do you have that will set you apart from a man like Rogers?"

Flint stood up suddenly, his body tight with anger. "I want you all to clear the house, leave. I don't want to see any of you in here tonight."

Billy obeyed silently because he recognized the threat that Flint posed, even though Flint was just proving his point. But he had survived him once already, he wouldn't try it a second time so he didn't say anything. The men left the house until it was only him and Silver. The silence grew heavy, and it was only when the men were long gone that Flint finally spoke, his position unchanged.

"What right do they have to call me privileged?" his voice was tight with a sadness that disguised itself as anger. "What right do they have when that very same society called me a monster? When it wanted to see me hanged for who I loved? What right do they have?"

Flint's pain cut to the very core of Silver, that core he liked to deny he had. So Silver finally approached him until there was only an inch between them. He wanted to lay a comforting hand on Flint's back but he wasn't sure where his place was. If the gesture would be welcome. His friendship with him still so fragile. That inch of distance was more than just an inch.

"They don't know his name, they don't know your story. Or else, they'd say different."

"So what are you saying?" Flint asked angrily and tiredly. "That I must parade my tragedy in front of them? So I can become what to them? A martyr for them and even more of a monster for England?"

"No," Silver answered firmly. Protectiveness rising upon the secret Flint had confided in him over a fire. Not wanting Flint to be exposed like Ashe had wanted, to give England that victory. "There're other ways to soften you upon their eyes without revealing what's not theirs to know."

And truly it was all Billy's fault.

.

"Did I heard you right?" Flint asked perplexed and Silver wondered if this was the day Flint finally killed him. "Did you just said that you and I should join in matelotage? That's your idea to make me more likable on the men's eyes?"

"Believe me, I know how it sounds," Silver said cringing. "But it's the most practical way to show them how you're different from England's tyrants, to show them some of your true self, your queerness without actually revealing your past."

"What about you? What about your true self, what will it show them?" Flint kept digging.

"I worn many masks," Silver said, "recently that I'm a quartermaster. I will now have to wear one of a pirate king. What does one more do?" and Silver wasn't being honest, not entirely. Because none of them were really masks, he liked to pretend for himself that they were just a mask. That he was just fulfilling a role, pretending to care about the Walrus men. Pretending that the idea of leadership wasn't alluring, that he truly didn't want to be king. Pretending that Flint's darkness scared him more than it enticed him. Pretending that the idea of matelotage was just a political plan, that there wasn't a part of Silver that desired it.

"Let's say we go ahead," Flint argued, "won't the men react badly? The idea of a captain and a quartermaster is to oppose and reign each other, not to warm each other's beds."

Silver snorted. "Half the men have us already sharing a bunk and the other half are expecting to collect their bets later in time."

"Waging isn't allowed on the ship," Flint pointed.

"Really? That's what you have to comment on it?"

There was a loaded pause that told Silver that there was much more Flint wanted to say, but he was calculating the possibilities.

"Alright."

And for once Silver was out of words.

"Alright," Flint repeated as if he too needed to hear the words again to fully register them. "You're right, it is the most practical way. It will not only give me a better look on the men but it would also be a tactical advantage. You and I when together can achieve anything, making it official it's only logical."

Flint sent Silver a penetrating look that reached Silver's very soul, and Silver swallowed wishing it could all be real.

.

Flint must have gone insane to have agreed to Silver's plan. Truly insane. Not because arranging a matelotage between them was an illogical plan. From a strategical point it was perfect. No, that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that since Silver opened that door in a dark cage, since Miranda's ghost forced him to see what he tried to blind himself to, since then a flame had ignited inside Flint. A light that Flint had all but forgotten, thought himself incapable of having it in him anymore. And since then it had grown stronger, the flame of a dragon in the darkness.

Flint refused to name what he felt though he did recognize it for what it was. He had a moment of solitude in Miranda's house so he was searching in a closet a box that contained a broken dream. A dream that had vanished without even a goodbye.

Once he found it he opened to look at it. A gold ring worthy of a lord. A ring that had never graced the hand of its intended owner. His chance had been taken before he could even try and so the ring traveled with him to Nassau because he refused to part with that dreamed future that had been stolen.

Flint felt the presence of the wrapped painting while he stared at the ring. He must truly be losing his mind, too much grief and rage must have damaged. He could not be considering giving this ring to Silver. The ring intended to Thomas could not be on a thief's hand. Specially when this all was a ruse, not real. But staring at the ring he could not think of any other ring to give to Silver.

This was a ring of dreamed futures. Flint knew he was setting himself to heartbreak, but who could begrudge him this when after ten years he was dreaming of something other than death.

.

Silver was panicking. He knew one day his mouth would get him in trouble way over his head and this was it. He was not going to survive this because either he would do something that would step over the line and Flint would kill him or having to pretend he was in a relationship with Flint while repressing his actual feelings would do it. Either way, he was a dead man.

Now, he was waiting for Featherstone and Idelle to return from their ring hunt. He had not told them what it was for though the looks they had giving him suggested they knew. A ring for Captain James Flint.

What was absurd wasn't that he was going to basically marry Flint, it was how much he wanted it. Flint was already the closest relationship he had ever had. Never he had grown so close to another human being. He already shared most of his inner thoughts with him, sharing their possessions, knowing that upon there they would have to respond to the other. Silver wanted that. He also wanted the intimacy that accompanied said bond. He wanted to be that person that Flint relied on with everything that it entailed. Even if it meant fearing a pattern, he embraced that and would meet it when he had to. He craved to be close to Flint in every way imaginable.

Featherstone and Idelle finally arrived and then left him with an arrangement of rings. But none of them convinced him. They all seem hollow, with no history. And if all was going to be fake he wanted the ring to at least feel real, absurd as the idea might be.

He then remembered he still had the boatswain's whistle, a gold whistle, from one they had stolen the Spanish warship. Silver now had to find Terrell, the closest thing they had to a smith and see if he could fashion it into a ring. A thief's ring forged in the Walrus. It'd fit, and when the story was told it would help their plan.

.

The word had spread on the Walrus like fire that the captain and the quartermaster were going to tie the knot. There was an excited air going around, only the faint groan of the unlucky crewmembers that had to empty their pockets posed any negative sound. Not because they thought that their leaders weren't doing it behind closed doors but because they thought that they'd never go public about it. So when Terrell came to say that he was making a gold ring for Silver, the men started wondering. And when Billy came to announce that on sunset he would officiate the matelotage the coins started circulating.

Flint and Silver were watching the shrinking shores of Nassau, heading back to Maroon Island.

"So, Captain, will you finally make an honest man out of me?" Silver joked.

Flint laughed and some tension dissolved in Silver's belly. "I don't think you'll ever stop being a thief, Mr. Silver."

"I hope you're not trying to tell me I stole your heart because that line is too low for the likes of you," Silver laughed and he was toying with fire. But he was used to the warm risk of fire by this point.

Flint barely smirked this time. "I won't dignify that with an answer."

Their friendship seemed still intact, Silver thought, maybe it could get past this.

Finally, they were at a safe distance from Nassau and the governor's army and the sun was near the horizon. Silver and Flint stood next to each other on the middle of the deck where Billy cleared his throat in front of them, silencing the men around them.

"Normally, a matelotage would be held by the captain of the ship, but as he and the quartermaster are to participate in this one, the role falls to me. So, do you the captain and the men pass the authority to me for this event."

"Aye," Flint said with a serious expression.

"Aye," repeated the men all around the deck. Several of them stomped their feet three times in homage.

"So, we're to celebrate the matelotage of Captain James Flint and Mr. John Silver," Billy stated, hiding pretty well the awkwardness he felt. "Do you have the rings that will symbolize the union to the men?"

"Aye," Flint and Silver said in unison.

Billy turned to Flint, "Captain James Flint, do you promise to stand and fight next to Mr. John Silver, to protect him and care for him, to share all your possessions with him, to name him as your successor in the event of death?"

"I do," Flint said solemnly, and he turned to Silver.

Staring directly into his eyes, Flint grabbed Silver's left hand. Flint's hand was rough with the hardships of fighting and sailing, and the contact send currents of electricity down Silver's spine. Without breaking eye contact, Flint slided the ring on Silver's finger. Silver didn't want to break the connection but he couldn't help to look down to see the ring.

The ring was not solid. It had two bands and on the middle a delicate pattern run through it. It fit just right on Silver's hand but it contrasted with the other worn and cheaper jewelry Silver had.

"It's beautiful," Silver couldn't help but to whisper, and he might not have noticed he had said it out loud if it wasn't the way Flint's eyes penetrated him when he looked up.

Billy continued as if he had not heard Silver's comment, as if the charged air between Silver and Flint was normal.

"Mr. John Silver, do you promise to stand and fight next to Captain James Flint, to protect him and care for him, to share all your possessions with him, to name him as your successor in the event of death?"

"I do," Silver said and the words came hard through the lump in his throat.

Silver hoped nobody would notice how much his hand was shaking. He was ashamed of the ring he had produced for Flint. It had no embroidery, no pattern, only a gold band with rough edges. He knew it was the best Terrell could do in a ship on less than a day's notice. But after Flint's expensive ring, his seemed particularly cheap. This is all fake, Silver had to remind himself, Flint doesn't care what ring you give him because this is all fake. But then why Flint had given him such a fine ring?

Once Silver put the ring on Flint's finger, he did not remove his hand. Trying to cover the ring with his thumb so Flint wouldn't look at it. But Flint pulled his hand slightly backwards to see the ring. He said nothing and instead looked back at Silver with a piercing stare.

"I now declare you mates!" Billy announced. He then smirked and Silver knew it was personal. "You may kiss the groom."

Silver was caught by Flint's eyes but he knew he needed to perform, so still holding Flint's hands he stepped forward. Barely an inch apart, their warmth mixing, Silver couldn't help but sigh before he closed the distance between them.

Their lips connecting was both a revelation and anticlimactic. It was everything he wanted it to be, it felt like home, like belonging, like being accepted. It felt like too little, not enough, it felt like a scam because not matter how much he wanted otherwise it wasn't real, not where it mattered.

Yet, Silver had lost himself in the kiss and he was taken back when one crewman shouted, "you call that a kiss!"

Silver froze, taken aback by the comment and that's when Flint groaned and took his head in his hands. He pushed him against him, flushing their bodies together and took advantage of Silver's gasp to transform the kiss into a deep one. Flint's tongue invaded his mouth, washing him away like the sea in a storm to put him back into the shore a changed man. So Silver obliged to Flint's storm, he opened up himself, clutching his waist and drawing him closer because this was a storm he didn't want to survive.

This time Silver forgot about plots and wars, because this was the only thing real to him. He then poured back into Flint all his passion, giving as much as he received. Flint groaned once more and pressed harder against Silver. The movement caused their groins to align and Silver moaned at the spark of pleasure that ran through him when their hardened lengths rubbed between the clothes.

Just like that the spell was broken and Silver could hear again the cheering of the men, their men, around them. He remembered that this was not a kiss of lovers coming together but a pretense for political advantage. So he broke the kiss moving back and used his hold on Flint's waist to held him in place when he wanted to chase him back. Panting, they looked at each other's eyes and something hard and unpleasant set between them.

"I think I speak on behalf of all of the men," Billy said, "when I say, get a room!"

The men cheered, whistled and howled.

With no words and a hard look, Flint grabbed Silver by the hand and dragged him to the cabin that they would now both officially share.

The sun was gone.

.

When Flint locked the bolt behind him, Silver felt like he had to explain himself.

"I- back there- it's been a long time," and usually Silver was better with words, but usually he wasn't hard because his Captain had just kissed him senseless.

"I know," Flint whispered harshly going to his desk and leaning on it, his back to Silver. Did Flint know though? Did he truly know that Silver had dreamt of this in dreams he liked to forget? Did he know that Silver ached for him since before that dark cage? Did he know how it all started because between one moment and the next Silver was trapped in Flint's warm darkness and he couldn't tell how and when but he could barely remember how it was like to not be falling?

"I know _that_ wasn't personal," he said gesturing vaguely backwards to Silver's crotch even though Silver had remained glued to the door. "You should take care of it, the men are surely listening. Don't worry, I won't look."

Silver couldn't believe what he was hearing. His brain confused with the mixed signals. Flint had just asked him to masturbate in the cabin with him in it. But his tone was harsh, angry and Silver couldn't tell why. The only reason why was that Flint was disgusted by what just happened, by him.

"Go on," Flint said after a while when Silver had not moved, his back still towards him.

Silver obeyed because he didn't know what else to do. He let his belt with his weapons fall to the floor and he opened his breeches and took out his half-hard cock. He licked his hand and started tugging his cock, his eyes never leaving the back of Flint's head. But the movements felt mechanic, lifeless and though his cock had perked up a bit with the stimulation no real arousal run through his system anymore.

"I can't," he whispered, vulnerable and open.

"Goddammit," Flint cursed and strode towards him, cornering Silver against the door. He pushed Silver's hand away and grabbed his cock. "If you don't want this, tell me," and there was danger in his voice, but it was the darkness that Silver had come to crave so he did not fear it.

"I want this," he sighed with closed eyes.

So Flint started stroking him, and it was too dry, too fast but it was perfect. Silver grabbed Flint's shoulders and dug his fingers in his flesh, holding on hard. He raised his hips seeking more of Flint's hand, pushing himself against the other's body. He moaned loudly and high against Flint's ear but he didn't care, intoxicated as he was with Flint's smell.

He was getting dangerously close but he didn't want it to be over. He wanted something else. He wanted Flint's mouth on him, his mouth on Flint's skin. But even his dazed mind knew that would be crossing over a line. So instead he focused on Flint's erection against his tight.

"Wait," he breathed.

Flint slowed down as soon as he felt Silver's hand fondling with his breeches. His breath was hard on Silver's ears when he finally was able to grab his cock. And the fact that he was still alive signaled he could go on, so he started stroking Flint's cock, distributing the precome along it.

Soon they were stroking each other fast at the same rhythm. Flint's deep groans made Silver's cock twitch in arousal and he moaned in return burying his face on Flint's neck.

Silver came hard and suddenly with the word "James" stuck in his throat and an indecipherable shout escaping from his lips. Flint groaned particularly loud and Silver felt his come cover his hand.

Outside the cabin, Silver heard a man cheer before he was silenced by some other crewman. Then the muffled sounds of steps while the cleared the space from the other side of the captain's door. Flint left abruptly to fetch a cloth to clean himself, what little Silver had managed to see of his face was set on a harsh expression.

Silver was left still panting against the door, his cock out and his breeches covered in come. What the fuck had just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the [ring Silver gives to Flint ](http://s3.weddbook.com/t1/2/4/3/2432083/20-sale-hammered-gold-wedding-band-modern-gold-ring-modern-wedding-band-unique-wedding-ring-men39s-gold-ring-simple-gold-band-mens-wed.jpg) and the [ring that _inspires_](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c4/8d/da/c48dda11955307a66bead7a414d3fd49--men-engagement-rings-men-wedding-rings.jpg) the one Flint gives to Silver.


	2. You and I could set the world on fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flint was a being of war, a storm born from the sea itself, so who could blame him if he go lost in the cloudless sky that were Silver's eyes, his clear opposite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit the smut

Flint stared at the roof of his cabin, wait, _their_ cabin as of now. He had barely slept distracted by Silver's breathing by the window seat and the memories of Silver's moaning next to his ear. He remembered the conversation they had had by the fire, where Silver had warned him he might be his end. He had laughed it off then but he believed it now. One way or another this would destroy him, Silver would be his end.

He had offered Silver to use the bed while he slept on the floor but Silver had pushed him away with a comment of "I'm not an invalid" and headed towards the window seat. It was smaller than the one they had had in the Spanish warship and Silver ought to be uncomfortable but Flint did not press further.

A loud breath from Silver took him back to last night after the matelotage. Flint was a man of war and so the war waged inside himself. For he had both loved and hated what had transpired.

A shadow moved inside the cabin.

"The ring was meant for you, you know?" Flint whispered to the shadow.

"I know, my darling," the shadow whispered back coming closer to him.

The chains that hung the bed from the ceiling creaked when the bed moved. A man sat on it and leaned towards Flint.

"I shouldn't have giving him the ring, it was meant for you and no one else," Flint pleaded, seeking some absolution.

"It's alright to desire for somebody else, my love," Thomas said kissing Flint on the forehead.

But it wasn't just desire what drew him towards Silver it was something else. "You should've been my husband, not him," Flint cried.

"It's alright, my love. You have my blessing," Thomas said and got up from the bed.

"Please, stay," Flint begged, his heart breaking into a million pieces.

"Go to him, my darling."

Thomas was gone and Flint was alone in the cabin with a thief sleeping next to him. He got up and looked at the ring he had been given. It was plain, roughly finished. Flint could tell it had been done in the very same day. But Flint was happy it wasn't a finer ring, it helped him to remind it was all a ruse.

Silver stirred on the window seat and finally woke up. Flint pretended not to hear the soft grunts of pain while he put his peg leg on the ground. He did it both to spare him the dignity and because he didn't know how to show him he cared. Not anymore.

Before yesterday, their interaction was easier. Flint knew and could read how much he could approach Silver. But now, the bridge that before looked firm if tentative seemed to be on the edge of breaking down.

Silver walked to him and grabbed his hand.

"Time to face the music," he said.

And Flint remembered he trusted Silver, that he chose him as an ally, a partner, a friend. They could do this together.

"Let's," Flint said.

.

The majority of the men had grins on their face, the high of their recent victory against England and their leaders matelotage still present. Flint schooled his features to look a bit less murderous than usual. Silver instead smiled at everyone and he joked around with the men when they made insinuations about what happened last night. The whole time they were holding hands.

And when they were not holding hands, like when they were sitting at the table for lunch, it was small touches. A hand on his back when Silver leaned towards him to tell him something, or on his tight where it rested when it wasn't doing anything else.

Flint had to remind himself it was not real, but he looked at Silver's smile while he talked to the men and he had a hard time convincing himself. That's why it took him longer than it should to notice the subtle changes in the men's attitude. They were small changes, the way they handed him the bread, or how they tried to include him in the conversations.

He was taken back to the conversation with Silver over the fire. How men feared and liked Silver while Flint was only feared. Flint had never been liked save for a selected few. He had been feared, hated, disdained but never liked. He crossed a look with Silver and he couldn't help but smile too, Silver's plan was already coming through. So in one bold moment, Flint reached under the table, to where Silver's hand rested on his tight and grabbed it, holding it there.

Silver was in the middle of a sentence and he managed to finish it without the men noticing anything, but Flint could tell the subtle strain in his voice. When he was done talking he turned to look Flint in the eyes.

Flint was a being of war, a storm born from the sea itself, so who could blame him if he got lost in the cloudless sky that were Silver's eyes, his clear opposite.

.

The day passed in a blur for Flint between commanding the ship and Silver's touches in this honeymoon stage that they were. Now, they were back at the cabin, getting ready for another night.

After the handjob from yesterday Flint had been furious with himself, furious because this was the first time he was with another man since Thomas. Furious because it was Silver, furious because he had desired it, furious because his first time with Silver was product of an strategy and not something real. So he had departed abruptly from Silver's side, he had been rude and short.

Silver had then responded in kind, going to sleep to the window seat. But after today, they seemed to be in a better place so when Silver, after disposing of his belts and outer clothes headed to the window, Flint tested the waters.

"The window is too uncomfortable for you," he said, and then he realized his wording. "For anyone, actually."

There was a silence where Silver was assessing him with his eyes, and Flint let him. "What are you suggesting then, Captain, that we take turns?"

"I know it's not big enough and we'd be close. But I reckon it must be more comfortable than the window seat."

At this moment, Flint really wished his pale complexion wasn't giving him away because he felt his face grow hot.

Then, Silver surprised him.

"Alright."

He had been ready to have to insist on it, to make a point, to have to mother hen Silver that he wasn't taking care of his leg. But Silver always kept him on his toes, the moment he thought he understood him and could predict him, he did or said something that ungrounded him. Somehow, he found relief in it.

Flint had also unclothed himself until he was only in a shirt and breeches. He climbed onto one side of the bed and lied on it while Silver sat on the other side. Silver turned around his head and looked at him for several seconds and then turned again and proceeded to remove his peg leg. The significance of it was not lost to Flint.

The two of them lied stiffly, their arms brushing on the center of the bed, and the other arm dangerously close to the border of the bed. They were tense and uncomfortable, too aware of the space they occupied. But bless Silver and his capacity to adapt himself and to take calculated risks.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" he cursed and turned in the bed towards Flint, leaning on his side. He put his left arm bent over Flint's, his hand almost holding Flint's shoulder. He then dragged his stump over Flint's leg.

"What are you doing?" Flint couldn't help to ask.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Silver asked annoyed. "Putting myself comfortable and avoiding falling from the bed on my sleep."

"You're going to end up making _me_ fall," Flint argued in what he knew was a futile attempt.

"Then scoot over here, dammit," Silver said pointing out the logical solution.

It was logical, yes, but it was also more dangerous than falling from the bed. However, the damage was already done, so Flint obeyed moving more to the center of the bed. And because Flint lived by the philosophy of go big or go home, he moved his arm from under Silver's and pushed it past the other's body. He ended up with his arm around Silver's back, holding onto his waist. Silver's hand now resting on his chest, his head on his shoulder.

They were still tense, but the tension had shifted. They were no longer waiting for the unavoidable. Eventually they began to relax.

Because Silver was and would always be a little shit, he broke the silence.

"Goodnight, _Captain_."

Flint snorted. "Goodnight, Mr. Quartermaster."

And if his thumb was absentmindedly caressing Silver's waist, well, nobody was saying anything about it.

.

He woke up with Silver still in his arms, only that in their sleep they had gotten even closer. Silver lying more fully over him. Which would not have been particularly problematic -aside from the very same fact that John Silver lied asleep in his arms- if it wasn't that it was morning and Flint was hard. And Silver's leg was extremely close to his erection.

Flint started to move slowly, trying to get away, but the movement still stirred Silver. He did not wake though Flint wished he had. No, instead Silver grabbed himself hard against Flint and moved his hips. And Silver's own erection rubbed against Flint's hip.

Flint froze.

Silver did it again.

"John," Flint whispered quietly, arrested in place.

Silver's hips moved once more and then Silver finally opened his eyes. Flint watched how the finals clouds of sleep left Silver's eyes and comprehension dawned in. Flint remained impassive, rooted, caught in Silver's gaze. Because Silver's eyes were opened to him, and so they held a dialogue in silence.

His eyes told Flint about longing want and desperate need. They talked about loyalty, about partnership, about passion and lust. Flint should have been a stronger man but he was stripped away from his defenses under that gaze. He had made this mistake once and God help him he was doing it again. So Flint answered that look with an offer. 'If you want this, take it," he replied with his own eyes.

Without breaking eye contact, his eyes piercing into him, Silver answered with a deliberate roll of his hips against Flint's tight.

It was like a dam had broken.

Flint turned aligning their groins together. His hands went immediately to grab Silver's head, tangling on those wonderful curls that had drove him insane for so long. He wanted to kiss Silver but that's not what he had offered. This is what happened with sailors at sea. This was lending a hand to your friend with whom you were staging a fake matelotage. Silver was not his lover, Flint understood that. So he would not dwell on that but instead focus on the grinding of their erections.

Silver had grabbed his ass to give himself better leverage to move. Sliding their erections together, sending sparks of pleasure even with the layers of their breeches between them. Flint felt contained in Silver's arms and he was willing to follow his lead in this. So he groaned when Silver opened both their breeches and took them both in his hands.

He wanted to kiss Silver but instead he moved Silver's hair away and attacked his neck with his mouth. This way he didn't need to worry about saying or doing things he shouldn't and he could focus instead on the moans Silver made, particularly when he tugged at his hair. Flint relished on the fact he didn't have to care if he left bruises in there for everyone to see.

Eventually, he had to let go of Silver's neck to pant next to his ear. Silver's hand on both their dicks and the feel of it. He had not looked down to see the image they both made together for he would have come immediately. All the same, Silver moaned "James," and Flint came with his hands buried on Silver's hair and his smell invading his senses.

He was dimly aware of Silver's come covering his dick, though it did twitch weakly at that. They didn't move at first while they recovered their breaths. Until Silver moved up to assess the mess between their legs. He then looked down to Flint, who he was bracketing with his arms.

"Are we really doing this?" he breathed and Flint didn't have to ask what he meant.

"It seems so," Flint answered looking at how clear the sky in Silver's eyes looked while there was still some post-orgasmic bliss running through them.

"God, I must say this wasn't my intention when I proposed this plan to you," Silver said, "but I can't complain" he finished laughing and burying his head on Flint's chest.

Flint wanted to live the rest of his life inside that laughter. He held Silver's head with one hand, pressing it softly against his chest for a second, before moving his hand and caressing Silver's forehead softly once in lieu of the kiss he actually wanted to place there.

"We need to get cleaned up," Flint said, "we have a ship to run."

Silver groaned in response and buried his face even more on Flint's chest.

"I know," Flint laughed.

And Flint wondered why his days couldn't consist of this peace instead of the constant war.

.

For the past three days they had established a routine. Outside their cabin, they shared touches for the crew's sake. A hand that lingered too much, Flint fixing a loose strand of hair from Silver's face, Silver whispering strategy into his ear over the roar of the sea and departing with a kiss to his cheek. As the days passed the crew stopped acting or commenting on it, specially as their dynamic hadn't changed much. Silver still acted as a counterpoint to Flint most of the time, reigning him for the sake of the crew. Silver still chatted and laughed with the men as their brother and Flint still walked with a permanent frown. The main difference was that now, despite Flint's protests, the men tried to include Flint in. Most noticeable on dining time, before Flint would eat on the solitude of his cabin but now the men insisted he ate with them. Teasing him whether his now-mate would have cooked something edible or not.

The captain and the quartermaster were mates, that was the new normal of The Walrus.

However, in the solitude of the cabin, things changed. They didn't touch anymore, behaving as they did before. Just friends, allies that shared a living space. But it was different when it was time to share the bed. Then pants would go flying down and their mouths would attach to each other skin. Sometimes their hands would find their hardness, sometimes they would just rut to completion. On one occasion, they were glued to each other as soon as the door was closed behind them.

They always end up tangled on the bed, falling asleep in each other's arms until the first rays of sun would wake them.

This was the last night before they reach the Maroon Island and Silver was fidgety. Even when this was just a physical side effect of their strategy to make Flint a more likeable leader, Silver had enjoyed it. He wished there was more to it, that he could softly kiss Flint and cherish him. To hold him and tell him how much he mattered to him. But he had this and he appreciated it. He now knew what Flint sounded like when he came, the way his breath hitched when he did something he liked, the way his freckles disappeared when he blushed. And he wouldn't trade that for all the Urca gold.

They didn't took out all of their clothes to get to the bed, doing so meant too much of an statement they were not ready to make. Instead they would only get rid of each other clothes as passion made need of, as if in this way they could camouflage their thirst for the other's skin.

Silver's shirt was already gone as Flint was kissing his collarbone and he was heading to one of his nipples.

"I want to try something," Silver said putting a hand on Flint's chest.

"What?" Flint asked curiously.

"Just-" Silver couldn't say it out loud so he just pushed Flint around until he lied on his back. He grabbed a pillow to put under his stump and he then proceeded to remove Flint's breeches. He got a hold of Flint's hard dick and sighed nervously.

"Have you done this before?" Flint asked.

Silver sighed. "No," he confessed.

It wasn't that Silver hadn't been with men before. But his life before the Walrus on merchant ships wasn't the best place for expressions of sodomy. No more than a few rushed handjobs on the shadowy corners to push away the edge. He had convinced a few guys to suck him, but it wasn't something he was willing to risk on the strict ruling of a merchant ship. Once in the Walrus he had fumbled with a few of them, as a way to get his way around the ship, to earn back a place, but never beyond jerking each other off. Muldoon had been the only one he had ever thought of taking it further, but then Muldoon died and Silver found himself bringing Flint back from his darkness and that was it.

"You don't have to do this," Flint said.

"I wouldn't have gotten to this point if I didn't want to," Silver argued and he could tell he was being defensive but he couldn't help it.

"I can talk you through it," Flint offered.

"Godammit, Flint, I know the basics of sucking a cock," Silver argued and because he wanted to first drive Flint insane, he started kissing Flint's inner tight. He went up, trailing kisses and small bites, enjoying the feel of hair under his tongue. Once he reached Flint's groin he started again on Flint's other tight. This time when he reached his groin, he took a ball in his mouth and rolled it with his tongue. He had his mouth too full to smirk at the way Flint squirmed in pleasure.

He released it with a pop, and eyed Flint's hole. God, he couldn't now but he wished he would have some other opportunity to explore it. But Silver wasn't one to mourn for what he didn't have so instead he gave one firm lick to Flint's beautiful erect cock and was rewarded by one strong moan.

He stopped, hesitating for a while and then he felt Flint's hand tangle on the side of his head, slightly scratching his scalp. Flint didn't move his hand, just let it rest on silent encouragement. Emboldened, Silver enveloped his lips around the head of Flint's dick and sucked.

"John," Flint moaned and Silver's dick twitched in his pants, leaking precome.

Taking care of his teeth, Silver slided downwards taking as much as he could of Flint's dick and stopped short of reaching his throat, not wanting to choke on his first time. He used a hand to cover what he could not reach and started bowing up and down, drinking in Flint's precome and his moans.

It was the first time he tasted semen, and Silver thought he could grow addicted to the taste. But he knew it was only because it was Flint's. Flint who was releasing broken moans, whose hand opened and closed on his head. His jaw was starting to ache but Silver was too busy relishing on the rush of power and affection of reducing Flint to this unstable mess of pleasure.

"John, John, I'm coming," Flint warned him and he tried to push Silver away but Silver wouldn't have it.

He moved back so only the head remained in his mouth and he continued jerking Flint off until Flint came with an aborted shout. His semen hit the back of his throat and his tongue where he relished on the taste. Silver could have come there and then but he fought it off because he wanted to come looking at Flint's face.

As soon as Flint's dick had stopped twitching Silver moved up the bed and looked down at Flint's blissed out face. He rutted against him, not looking away from his face. He was so close when Flint opened his eyes and looked at him with a drowsy smile. Flint grabbed his hips and stopped his rutting. Silver would have complained if it wasn't that after it Flint turned him around, making him rest his back on the bed, and silenced him with a kiss.

This is just a physical act, Silver had to remind himself while Flint's tongue slided against him. Flint is just chasing his taste in your mouth, nothing else. But as Flint kept kissing him softly, Silver's resolve started to crack and a small slice of hope started to blossom in a dark crevice of Silver's heart.

Flint broke the kiss and smiled tenderly at him, making Silver's heart flutter painfully. He then slided down and slowly removed Silver of his breeches. Flint gave a few tugs to Silver's cock making him cry out desperately. He then put his fingers on a tight ring on the base of Silver's cock and took him in one go.

Flint clearly had experience in giving head. Silver was trashing desperately, he would have already come if it weren't for Flint's fingers holding back his orgasm.

"Fuck, fuck, James, _oh, fuck_ ," Silver cried desperately.

He wouldn't relent, driving Silver crazy with his tongue and lips. Moaning and sending vibrations through Silver's cock. Suddenly, Flint graced his lips against his cock and Silver shouted.

"Please, please, please," Silver begged afterwards and Flint must have taken pity on him because he released the base of Silver cock while he kept sucking and Silver came with a shout of "James!"

"God, only you could be so loud," Flint smiled at him and even though Silver hadn't still recovered his breath he had to kiss him.

So he dragged him down and moaned brokenly at his taste on Flint's mouth. The kiss was short, Silver was too out of oxygen yet. Flint kissed his forehead and then handled him until he was spooning his back. Silver grabbed Flint's hand on his chest and sighed while sleep was slowly pulling him under.

He was glad to have tried this now. For tomorrow they would reach Maroon Island and something told him that the balance the both of them had reached would be threatened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be an easy to write fic, instead well, things turned out faster when this chapter transformed into plain smut.  
> Anyway, next chapter may take a while because I had a breakthrough with my other fic and I want to try to update that one. But I don't know.  
> This are two dorks in love and if only they would just talk for real (not like I'm the writer and I can made them do what I want, right? No, I can't they have a life on their own). This chapter was meant to be more from Silver's POV but then Silver was behaving like a little shit and told me to go with Flint and boy I did not expect any of that.  
> There's a big possibility Thomas is actually dead in this fic, I haven't decided if I want to go with a theme of Flint having to move on or if i'm for da twist.  
> I really hope you like it and that it still holds up to your expectations.


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